YET another fantastic domestic football season has come to its climax.
Premiership 1
Premiership 1 witnessed a brilliant success story of the men in blue, at Grouville FC.
The league title has always evaded the hands of the “beast from the east”. However, this season brought the silverware that is hugely sought-after in Jersey Football: the Premiership 1 trophy.
With help from their top scorer and player of the year nominee, Harrison Moon, the “Groove” were able to celebrate their league triumph following their 7-0 demolition of Madeira FC. The win was a fitting end to their stellar season, hat-tricks from league veteran Logan McGhee, who has recently announced his retirement from local football, and POTY nominee Moon began the celebrations at Boulivot.
Earning 35 points from a possible 42, Grouville were the deserved title winners.
Although Grouville ended the season on a high, it began on a low. The first trophy up for grabs this season was the “Francis Bingham” Charity Cup. Springfield Stadium welcomed the league winners and a confident Jersey Wanderers side.
Wanderers, under new management with a number of new signings, were hoping for the perfect start to their 2024/25 season. The new-look Wanderers side edged a tight 2-1 win over the blues to win the season’s first prize. The second-half comeback was probably the highlight of Wanderers’ season, as the remainder was fairly disappointing for the men in red-and-white stripes, finishing just five points above the relegation zone.
Continuing on the topic of silverware, St Clement First team got their hands on some of their own. The Wheway Memorial Trophy, contested by every team in the Jersey top division, alongside four of Guernsey’s finest, St Clement reigned supreme with a 3-1 win over Guernsey Rovers in the final.
The yellows will have had their sights on the league title at the beginning of the season, following their title-winning campaign last season. However, finishing four points short of Grouville, they had to settle for the cup. A fantastic cup run including wins against Sporting Academics, Guernsey’s Northerners, and notably the league winners Grouville in the semi-final, crowned them worthy winners of the league’s most coveted cup.
The Le Riche Trophy, otherwise known as the JFA Cup, brought this season’s two best sides together in what was a thrilling contest. Grouville faced St Clement at Springfield Stadium. Two late goals from either side took the tie to extra time. A late winner from substitute Jack Da Silva brought home another trophy for the blues. A league and cup double for Grouville capped off a fantastic season. Although, it could have easily been a treble.
The final game of the season is the annual Upton, a contest between the winners of both Guernsey and Jersey’s top divisions. Grouville faced off against St Martin’s AC on home soil. However, Guernsey’s best were too good for the blues, a second-half dismissal of star player Moon, gave St Martin’s the edge in a close match, winning 1-0.
Third place St Paul’s had a brilliant season. Their young squad, made up almost entirely of juniors, comfortably claimed third spot. Competing in a league of such quality is a huge credit to the club, their dominance in the under-18 division carried over into men’s football and the future looks bright.
Notably, Callum Gilroy topped the league scoring charts, netting 25 times in 19 appearances. An emphatic return for the young forward earned him a spot in the 2025 Muratti Vase squad alongside four of his teammates.
St Brelade trailed St Paul by five points in fourth place, with an equal number of wins to losses. Six wins and two draws from “the Fish” saw them finish just above fifth-placed Wanderers, who sat on 16 points. Madeira FC, new to the league, managed to retain their spot in the top division evading the relegation spots by three points.
Sporting Academics First team and St Peter’s First team are the two sides dropping into Premiership 2. “The Crosskeys” faced a challenging season with a significantly revamped squad, struggling to find consistency and ultimately falling short in their battle for survival. No doubt both sides will challenge to come straight back up.
Premiership 2
Premiership 2 was an action-packed affair throughout the season. A tight contest at the top between St Ouen’s and St John Firsts went down to the wire, with a mere two points separating the two sides.
The western side stole the title honours with a 1-0 win over St John on the final day of the season. St Ouen’s Jay Curtis scored an early goal to secure the title for the yellows. A monumental achievement for the club, which will certainly be a theme throughout this piece. Both teams earned promotion to Premiership 1 and look to make their mark on the island’s top division next season.
Despite missing out on the league title, St John had two more opportunities to gain some silverware. Firstly, St John faced their title contenders St Ouen’s in the Tradesmen Trophy. The full-time score was 2-2 despite St Ouen’s playing the second half with ten-men.
Unfortunately for the fresh-faced northern side, St Ouen’s miraculously put them to bed winning 4-2 in added extra time. The double was therefore completed by a quality St Ouen’s side.
St John had another crack at a trophy when they faced Championship 1 side St Brelade Reserves in the JFA Bowl final. St Brelade concluded their season with just three wins from 15, positioning St John as the clear favourites to secure what many felt was a well-deserved first trophy of the season.
Once again, unfortunately for St John it was not their day. The reds’ captain, Jack Gibson, scored the goal of the season, an incredible overhead kick, to overcome the underdog status and win the final 2-1.
The remainder of Premiership 2 was a sporadic episode. Dragoes de Jersey had a solid season finishing in third ahead of Rozel Rovers First in fourth. Sports Club of Jersey finished in a respectable fifth place, with First Tower United and St Lawrence First experiencing poor returns throughout the season, trailing in sixth and seventh.
Championship 1
Championship 1 brought St Ouen more plaudits. Topping the table by a massive 11 points, St Ouen Reserves lost just one of their league games this season. Spearheaded by Player of the Year nominee Ben Cesar, with 19 goals and assists in 15 games.
Grouville’s Reserves squad finished in second. The league’s joint top scorer, Stewart Daynes, helped Grouville succeed this season netting 19 times.
Jersey Wanderers’ Reserves had a solid season alongside St Clement finishing third and fourth. With four points separating the two sides, they met in the final of the P.W. Touzel Memorial Trophy. A tightly contested final resulted in a 1-0 victory in favour of St Clement, thanks to a wonderful Josh Griffiths chip.
Despite St Brelade’s triumph in the JFA Bowl, they had a disappointing league season, joining St Peter Reserves in the relegation zone. Both sides amounted just three victories in the league.
Championship 2
St Ouen C and Grouville C made up a tight contest at the top of Championship 2, each earning promotion in the process. Both sides were on 20 points with three fixtures remaining. Grouville were the ones that succumbed to the pressure of a title race. The blues lost two games in succession while their counterparts won both, meaning St Ouen secured their third respective title in Jersey football with a game spare.
The yellows merited the opportunity to grab another league and cup double as they faced a rebuilt Trinity FC in the Dog Club Challenge Cup.
This final produced the most immense 120 minutes that Jersey football has witnessed in recent times. Trinity FC were optimistic in the fixture following a difficult first season back in men’s football. Their optimism and passion was rewarded with a successful penalty shoot-out prevailing 5-4 following a ridiculous 5-5 draw in added extra time.
St Paul’s Reserves finished in third place, four points short of a promotion spot.
Rozel Rovers Reserves, home to the league’s top scorer George Sheehy, finished on 13 points, sharing symmetrical records (four wins and a draw) with both St John Reserves and Trinity. Sporting Academics Reserves finished bottom of the men’s football pyramid on just nine points.
Over 35 Division
The Over 35 division echoed Coldplay’s famous words. “It was all yellow”, bringing home a fourth league title the way of St Ouen. St Ouen’s veterans pipped Portuguese FC to the title by just three points. Portuguese applied pressure beating the league toppers 4-1 in their final game of the season. However, St Ouen’s had fixtures in hand to set the record straight and win their fourth JFA Combination league. Mirrored in many of the other leagues, Grouville fell short in third place.
The Over 35 Division is now home to an impressive nine teams with each club growing. Rozel Rovers finished in a commendable fourth, with St Peter trailing in fifth.
Despite the efforts of the league’s top scorer, Matthew Rawlings, who netted an unfathomable 43 goals and assists in just 11 appearances, his St Clement side finished sixth. St Lawrence, Trinity and St Paul’s in that order, took seventh, eighth, and ninth.
Walking Football
Similarly, the Alexforbes & Hepburns Walking Football league has grown in recent years, and is now home to ten teams. Trinity FC were the standout performers in this year’s episode, topping the table on 45 points. Pioneered by Noel Kernan, whose goalscoring record this season was otherworldly. Kernan bagged 42 goals in just 12 matches, including seven against ninth-placed Rozel Rovers. Overall, his contribution amounted to 63% of Trinity’s tally.
Madeira FC came close but fell six points short to Kernan’s Trinity. Similarly, Portuguese FC demonstrated commendable resilience to secure third. Unfortunately for the westerners, St Ouen were unable to secure a fifth league title.
Women’s Division
The Women’s Division saw five teams competing this season. The introduction of Guernsey FC, due to the lack of competition across the channel, created a new challenge for the reigning champions, Rozel Rovers.
For years, the women’s game has seen a hotly contested rivalry between Jersey Wanderers and Rozel. However, this season brought a new dynamic with Guernsey FC proving too strong for Jersey’s local teams.
Guernsey FC topped the division unbeaten, followed by the usual Rozel and Wanderers.
Despite the foreign domination of the league, the JFA “Colin Welsh Cup” was contested by Jersey sides only. Rozel Rovers met Jersey Wanderers at Springfield Stadium, a fixture coped in history.
This season’s final certainly lived up to expectation. 90 minutes was not enough to decide the contest, at 2-2 the game went to extra time. Three first-half ET goals saw the “Seagals” triumphant over a relentless Wanderers side, whose two goals in response were not quite enough.
The annual Zany Labbe Memorial Trophy (Best vs Rest) was played to conclude the season. Rozel Rovers faced a combined squad of the players from Wanderers, St Peter and Sports Club. A last-minute equaliser from Muratti captain and player of the year nominee Holly Muirhead ended a thrilling 4-4 match.
Penalties ensued, and Rozel prevailed. Despite the presence of Guernsey FC, Rozel Rovers wrapped up the season with the women’s double.
Under 18’s Division
The under-18 Division witnessed a commanding performance from St Paul’s. The squad set their sights on the quadruple at the beginning of the season, and they delivered. The prowess of the juniors is testament to St Paul’s junior set-up. While the majority of the first team is made up of juniors, the under-18’s division proved a breeze for the yellows.
To put the domination into perspective, St Paul’s netted 107 goals this season, and conceded just 11. An entirely unbeaten season included the Tregear Junior Memorial Trophy, 6-0 vs Rozel Rovers, back-to-back Uptons with a 5-1 win against Sylvan’s, and finally the E.J De Ste Croix Memorial Trophy (Best vs Rest) resulted in a comfortable 4-0 victory for the boys in yellow.
Four of the St Paul’s under-18 squad were rewarded for their efforts with Muratti debuts, an example-setting feat from youngsters Fergus Boyle, Callum Gilroy, Ewan Brodie and Thomas Goncalves.
Aside from St Paul’s unyielding supremacy, the lower four teams competed in the President’s Trophy. Grouville faced St Clement in the final where a 0-0 draw meant yet another final was decided on penalties. Like the men’s side, Grouville prevailed and the juniors won silverware of their own.
As a gripping season of football in Jersey came to an end, teams are already preparing for the 2025/26 season.
